very tight nationwide with president obama leading mitt romney by two points, 49% to 47%. but in two of the biggest swing states, the states that will decide the election, the president has a bigger lead. in florida, a quinnipiac university/cbs news/"new york times" poll has the president ahead by nine points, 53% to 44%. in ohio he leads governor romney by ten points, 53% to 43%. john dickerson is our cbs news political director. john, some republicans are complaining these polls aren't painting an accurate picture. do they have a case? >> reporter: well, they have a case when they remind us that polls are a snapshot in time and that things can change. really what we should look at in polls is the trends and how things are moving over time, the currents. and right now those favor barack obama. the polls are really more like a painting than they are a digital photograph. one of the other complaints is that pollsters are talking to too many democrats. in 2004 democrats said pollsters were talking to too many republicans. it's a standard complaint for the party that the curr